


So Much to Be Thankful For

by allmylovesatonce



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Big ball of fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 10:50:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11919339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmylovesatonce/pseuds/allmylovesatonce
Summary: Jake surprises Amy when he informs her that he invited their families AND the squad to their little apartment for thanksgiving. But the real surprise comes just before they sit down to thanksgiving dinner.





	So Much to Be Thankful For

Amy should have known something was up by the hesitant way Jake sat down next to her on the couch. He didn’t sit all the way back, choosing to sit on the edge and stare at her before beginning to speak. Amy watched him expectantly, letting whatever this was play out. “So as you know, Thanksgiving is approaching. It is, I believe, two weeks away.” Amy stared at him with a bemused expression. She had no idea where he was going with this. She nodded for him to continue. “Now, the next words I’m going to say, may come as a shock, but please just listen to everything before you react.”

“Okay, I was fine until you said _that_ ,” Amy retorted.

“Yeah, I should have just kept talking,” Jake agreed. “Whatever, so I may have invited some people to come here for Thanksgiving. I hope that’s okay.”

Amy nodded slowly. “Okay. Who did you invite?”

“Just a few people!” Jake insisted. “My mom and your parents.” Amy started to smile. Her fear had been for nothing. And then Jake kept speaking. “And you know…the squad…”

Amy gaped at him. “You invited our parents _and_ the squad to come to Thanksgiving in this little apartment?”

“Well yeah, I invited the parents and then I realized that the squad has spent a lot of thanksgivings together and they’re always nice when we do and Charles would be so crushed if he missed out. So I may have invited the squad as well,” he concluded with a guilty nod. “Um, I feel I should inform you that Sharon felt guilty that Terry always misses Thanksgiving with the kids because of work, so she decided not to go to her parents’ for the holiday.”

“So we’ll have our parents, the squad, and all the Jeffords?” Amy asked, horrified.

“Also, all the Boyles. I mean, Charles insisted on bringing them,” Jake informed her, a nervous look on his face. Amy could feel her nervous system ramping up. She looked around her apartment, wondering how everyone would fit. “But good news, Rosa said Adrian won’t be able to come. And apparently Milton has to do something for work, so he can’t come either. It’ll be just Gina. However, the Captain said that Kevin will be joining us this year…”

Amy stared at Jake, horror filling her completely. Not only did she have to fit all these people in her apartment and entertain everyone, but that included her mentor’s husband? Amy started shaking her head nervously. “Jake, what made you think this is a good idea? I mean what the hell? There isn’t enough room for all these people! And having to cook and make sure the apartment is ready for that many guests. I mean this is a disaster! And you’re telling me two weeks out?” She was getting shrill, she could tell, but she didn’t care.

“Okay, take some deep breaths,” Jake cooed, exaggeratedly breathing in and out. “I haven’t finished telling you everything.”

“There’s more?” Amy shrieked.  She needed to smoke so badly in that moment.

“Yes, but it’s calming stuff. You can stop itching for your lighter,” Jake reassured. She had to smile. He knew her so well. Amy looked up and met his gaze. She gave him a small nod to continue. “So, I talked it over with everyone coming and they agreed that it is quite a lot to leave on two people who are not excellent cooks. And so this thanksgiving will be a potluck thanksgiving. Charles is in charge of the bird,” Jake informed. “I say _bird_ because I can’t guarantee it’ll be a turkey.” He shivered disgustedly for a second before continuing. “And everyone has agreed to bring a specific dish. It’s been organized and assigned. All we have to do is make the desserts. And that will be a cinch because, fun fact, my nana taught me how to make a perfect pecan pie.”

Amy stared at Jake disbelievingly. “Really?” He nodded confidently. “So why have I never had this perfect pecan pie?”

“Because I didn’t have to impress you with my culinary skills. You were already impressed by my detecting skills,” Jake explained with a grin. Amy rolled her eyes.

Amy sighed. “I don’t get it, Jake, why do all this? I mean you talked to everyone before you even talked to me.”

“Well I wanted it to be perfectly organized so that when I came to you and told you all this overwhelming stuff, I would have it ironed out so that I could calm you back down.”

“I guess that’s nice of you,” Amy caved. She laid her head against the back of the couch. “I don’t get it though, you don’t even like Thanksgiving. Why do all this for a holiday you hate?”

Jake sighed. There was a long pause. Amy worried she’d said the wrong thing. She didn’t know how, but she still was worried she’d said something bad. She picked her head up and looked at Jake. He had an odd look on his face. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “I guess I just wanted to celebrate. I wanted to be with the people I loved. Mainly because I thought that I’d be spending the next 15 Thanksgivings in jail. And I’m not. So I want to express my thankfulness over that with the people I care about,” Jake explained.

Suddenly Amy felt like an asshole. She should have understood that it was about more than just having people over. Jake had spent months in jail and was supposed to spend years there. He was Jake, so of course he’d want to make the most out of things, even holidays he didn’t like. Amy nodded, reaching over and grabbing Jake’s hands in hers. “I’m sorry. I should have realized that.”

Jake picked their joined hands up and kissed hers. “It’s okay.”

Amy squeezed his hands and then released them, turning purposefully on the couch to look at Jake. “Here’s the thing though, this place is going to need a lot of work before we have _that_ many people over here. And it will not be put all on me. You live here too.”

Jake opened his mouth to reply but Amy kept speaking. “I mean it, Jake. I may not be your boss here, but I _am_ your boss at work. And I can make your life a living hell there. I’m talking endless paperwork. And being partnered with Scully after I’ve presented him with multiple pizzas all full of lactose. And while his various fungi are acting up. And all he wants to do is sit in his chair. And then just when you think the worst is over, I’m going to give you all the cases involving sewers. You’ll be wading through actual crap. And showers aren’t going to take the smell from your nose.”

Jake stared at Amy, completely horrified. “Wow, okay. I was already planning to help. I didn’t need the imagery, Sergeant.” Amy laughed slightly at his use of her title. “Are you saying that I don’t help out enough or something?”

Amy shook her head. “No, but this is different. I mean it’s so many people. And children. Entertaining, especially for a holiday, is a different level than every day cleaning. And we’ll have to figure out how to rearrange so we can fit everyone. It’s gonna be a lot, Jake. And I’m gonna go crazy if I have to do it alone.”

Jake grabbed Amy’s hands and stared her in the eyes pointedly. “Amy, you will not be doing this alone. I promise. For instance, I’ve already figured out how we can rearrange. And it’s not like either of us are _that_ messy. It’s only two weeks away. How big a mess can we make in that time?” Amy stared at Jake with a knowing look. “Hey! I’ve gotten a lot better since we moved in together!”

Amy nodded. “Okay, I’ll give you that. Will you be up for helping me decorate?”

Jake leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “Of course! I’ll hang whatever you want _wherever_ you want!”

Amy was a bit skeptical of Jake’s promises. Not that she thought he couldn’t keep a promise, but it wasn’t in Jake’s nature to be the cleanliest person ever. The next two weeks were going to be interesting. She just wanted it to be over already.

 

Of course, Jake had kept his word and over the next two weeks, he’d done anything she wanted around the apartment and was keeping things cleaner than she’d ever seen. Amy had to admit she was impressed. Things had actually come together really well. Oddly enough, the couple of hours before people arrived, it was Jake who seemed the most nervous. Amy walked up behind him as he was fidgeting with his suit jacket. Amy had been shocked that Jake had voluntarily worn a suit and tie. But she couldn’t deny that he looked great in it.

“Are you nervous for your big shindig?” Amy asked jokingly, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

Jake looked up in the mirror and smiled at her. “Oh so it’s _my_ shindig?” he asked, rubbing his hand along her arm.

Amy laughed. “You organized it, planned it, coordinated everything. I’d say, yeah, it’s _your_ shindig.”

Jake turned around in her arms, a smile still on his face. Amy reached up and adjusted his tie slightly. “How do I look?” he asked.

A playful smile covered Amy’s face. “You look beautiful.”

“Still your thing? Are you still owning it?” he joked. Amy laughed and nodded. He pulled her in close. “Well you look beautiful too,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

Amy kissed him back. “Sure you’re not just trying to butter me up because of this whole thing?”

Jake laughed, turning to leave their bedroom. “I think once everyone is here and having fun, the only thing that will require buttering are the rolls that Gina is bringing.”

“Do you know what everyone is bringing?” Amy asked.

Jake nodded, turning back to her. “Of course I do. It’s part of organization. Let’s see,” he started to rattle off the top of his head. “Gina is bringing rolls. The Jeffords are bringing mashed potatoes and gravy. Charles is bringing the bird. Captain Holt is bringing his “famous cranberries.” I didn’t ask why they were famous, though I wanted to. My mom is bringing green beans. Your dad insisted on providing the corn. You know, since it’s his favorite. Rosa said she would make stuffing so I’ll be interested to see what that’s like. We’re providing desserts. My mom may also be bringing a ham. I couldn’t totally talk her out of it but she said she’d do it if she had time. I don’t know. Hitchcock and Scully are bringing nothing because I didn’t trust them to.” He smiled at her confidently. “Any questions?”

Amy stared at him in awe. “Just one.” He nodded for her to continue. “Is it bad that I’m a little turned on right now?”

Jake grinned deviously. “Not at all.” He put an arm around her to pull her in for a kiss. Amy was deepening their kiss when they heard a knock at the door. “To be continued,” Jake said with a smirk. Amy shook her head and grinned as Jake ran to get the door.

Slowly, all their guests arrived. Amy did her best to talk to everyone, though it was difficult when her parents got there. She felt like she needed to entertain them. It was interesting for her to see her parents and Jake’s mom in the same environment as all their work friends and _their_ families. Amy was supposed to be talking to Rosa when she got distracted by Jake playing with his goddaughter, Ava. He had such a way with kids and it was fun for her to watch.

Once Boyle had announced that they were five minutes from turkey time, Jake gathered everyone into one room. Amy had no idea what was going on. This whole day was Jake’s thing and she was just riding along in the side car. Jake raised his glass once everyone was silent.

“So before we eat, I wanted to go around the room and have everyone say what they’re thankful for,” Jake explained. Amy was impressed. Jake was taking to hosting Thanksgiving well. “I don’t mean to speak for Rosa, but I know we’re both pretty thankful that we’re not wrongfully incarcerated this Thanksgiving.”

Rosa chuckled, raising a glass to Jake.

“Anyway, I want to talk about what I’m thankful for this year. It was four years ago now that I was working a case with Captain Holt on Thanksgiving and we left this very apartment to go do work. And I made some comment about not really having family and he informed me that you have your family you’re born with, but then you can always make a new family. And that really stayed with me. For a while now, I’ve been a part of this fun, unofficial family. And I am really thankful for it. So I thought that maybe it was time the unofficial family became official,” Jake said. He paused, fiddling with his jacket.

Amy had no idea where he was going with any of this, but she was enjoying his speech so far. She looked over, waiting for him to continue, when he turned to her. He had a strange look in his eye that she couldn’t fully read. In the next second, he dropped down to one knee, pulling his hand from his jacket to present a ring box. Amy gasped, along with most of the people in the room.

“Amy, you’re my family. And you’re what I’m the most thankful for every day of my life. Side note, I was gonna do this around Christmas and Hanukkah and make my speech about gifts and miracles but I couldn’t wait that long to propose. But I am truly thankful for you. I’m thankful that you’ve never given up on me. That you show me every day how lucky I am that such an incredible woman chose me. You are the most amazing and strong and beautiful person I’ve ever met and it still baffles me that this could even be happening. Sometimes I forget that I’m not still the guy about to go undercover, pouring his heart out kind of inarticulately.” Jake joked through a shaky voice. Amy laughed as tears built in her eyes.

“But I know that whatever life throws at us, we’ll be fine. Because we’ve probably been through worse. I mean there was WITSEC and then prison. And we’re still here.” Amy could feel everyone’s eyes on them, but she had eyes for no one but Jake. Tears were streaming down her face at everything he was saying. His hands were shaking as he tried to open the ring box. Amy reached down and helped him open it.

He laughed. “Thanks. Amy Santiago, I love you more than I thought I was capable of. And all I want to do is spend the rest of my life with you. So…will you marry me?”

Amy knelt down in front of him, the biggest smile on her face. “Of course,” she breathed, almost unable to speak all together. But Jake heard her, his smile matching hers. She watched as he slid the ring on her finger. Soon he was pulling her in and was kissing her. Amy wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer as she kissed him to reflect all that she was feeling. Neither of them cared that all of their work friends and family members were watching. Though their cheers were what finally pulled them apart. Jake stood and helped Amy to her feet, turning to face their guests. A wall of sound erupted as they all congratulated Jake and Amy on their engagement. Jake wouldn’t let go of Amy’s hand as they were hugged by all their friends and family. To be fair, Amy didn’t want him to. Jake laughed, brushing away a stray tear, as he turned back to everyone. “So what’s everyone else thankful for?” he joked. Amy curled into his side, laughing with him.

“I think you know that _this_ is what I’m most thankful for,” Charles stated through a concerning amount of tears.

Jake nodded. “Yeah, should have known.”

“So who all knew this was going to happen?” Amy asked. They all looked around, shaking their heads. She looked back at Jake. “You didn’t tell _anyone_?” Amy questioned.

Jake smiled broadly, nodding his head. “Nope. I kept the secret all to myself. Even though it was _killing_ me.” He looked at Amy proudly. “Yep, I planned it all, got everyone to agree to it, got you on board, organized everything down to what people were bringing, all while keeping the biggest secret of my life. I had to pull some real Santiago moves in the last month or so. It’s been exhausting.”

Amy laughed, shaking her head as she looked at Jake in awe. “I love you,” she said simply. Jake beamed, leaning in to kiss her again.

“I hate to break up the love fest,” Charles interrupted, “And I mean, I really do hate it, but I think it’s turkey time!”

They all went to their seats, ready for their dinner. Amy sat down next to Jake. Next to her fiancé. She looked down at the ring on her finger. In all the hubbub, she hadn’t really looked at it. But it was beautiful, shiny and the perfect shape. She’d never planned what she wanted her engagement ring to look like, but if she’d had to pick it, she’d probably have picked this. Karen caught Amy staring at it as she sat down across from her. “It was my mother’s,” she informed her.

Amy looked up at her and then over to Jake for confirmation. He nodded happily. “Yeah, it was Nana’s ring. I was going to say that eventually.”

Amy smiled, looking back at her ring, appreciating it even more. “It’s perfect.”

They were all passing dishes around the table, talking about Jake and Amy for a bit before the subject inevitably changed. Amy watched as almost all of her favorite people sat around the same table, sharing in her joy. She looked back at her fiancé (a term she was going to use as much as she could) and marveled at the way he’d executed it all perfectly. Amy was not the biggest fan of surprises, but this would go down as the best surprise ever. Only Jake could pull off something like that.

**Author's Note:**

> Basically what happened is I can't stop thinking about Jake and Amy getting engaged and when it should happen this season. I was thinking about what could happen if they got engaged during the 99th episode since they say that's going to be a big episode. And then I remembered an interview with Dan Goor where he said that episode would fall around Thanksgiving. And this...THIS happened.  
> I hope you enjoyed this big ball of fluff! I truly can't wait to see the ACTUAL proposal. I guarantee I'll cry.  
> Anyway...  
> Feel free to come talk to me on tumblr! I'm three-drink-amy!


End file.
